In 2020, a disgruntled litigant posing as a deliveryman opened fire at the New Jersey home of District Judge Esther Salas, killing her 20-year-old son Daniel Anderl. Five years later, as President Donald Trump steps up hiscriticism of federal judges who have blocked some of his agenda, dozens of judges have had unsolicited pizzas delivered to their homes, often in Daniel Anderl's name.
District Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. of Rhode Island, who stalled Trump's initial round of across-the-board spending cuts, is among those who received pizzas in Anderl's name. His courtroom also has been flooded by threatening calls, including one profanity-laced one that called for his assassination.
McConnell, Jr. played a recording of the call during an unusual discussion Thursday where multiple federal judges discussed threats they have received - a notable conversation because judges usually only speak publicly from the bench and through their rulings, and rarely if ever, about personal threats and attacks. Salas and others said the number of attacks has escalated in recent months.
Without using his name, Salas called on Trump and his allies to tone down the rhetoric and stop demonizing the judiciary, for fear of what more could happen.
"We're used to being appealed. But keep it on the merits, stop demonizing us," Salas said. "They're inviting people to do us harm."